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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26830369">crawl home to her</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singofsolace/pseuds/Singofsolace'>Singofsolace</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Huddling For Warmth, Hypothermia, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kissing, Period-Typical Homophobia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:28:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,700</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26830369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singofsolace/pseuds/Singofsolace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zelda and Lilith go on a lovely hike up a mountain, but when the weather changes, they're forced to seek shelter. Kissing and cuddling ensues. </p><p>Written in response to the first Madam Spellman Fictober Challenge prompt: "Public Spaces"</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zelda Spellman/Lilith, Zelda Spellman/Mary Wardwell | Madam Satan | Lilith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>92</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Madam Spellman Fictober Challenge</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>crawl home to her</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I've just borrowed them for some much-needed cuddling for warmth content.</p><p>This fic takes place in a non-magical alternate universe, where Faustus and Edward vied for the position of Governor, not High Priest. Constance is conspicuously absent from this scenario, because I didn't have the heart to kill her. Sabrina is a toddler in this fic, because why not? I'm a witch who does what she wants.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hiking wasn’t Zelda Spellman’s idea of a perfect first date. In fact, it wasn’t Zelda’s idea of a date at all. If it were up to her, she would be in a fancy Italian restaurant, polishing off a bottle of frightfully expensive wine, and shamelessly flirting with her date over a plate of Oysters Rockefeller. She’d been on many such dates in the past (both before and after her ex-husband took a hatchet to her life), and they always ended the same way: with her lingerie on the floor of a discreet hotel room, her body deliciously spent, held in the arms of some dashing near-stranger with a talented tongue.</p><p>Taking one last look in the mirror, Zelda frowned at her appearance. She just felt… <em>wrong </em>in a sweater and leggings, but what else <em>could</em> she wear when she would be trekking through the woods? She hadn’t worn such plebian clothes since long before her association with Faustus, who was practically <em>born</em> a politician, much like her brother, and didn’t tolerate a sloppy appearance, especially when it came to the women on his arm.</p><p>Zelda could still feel the bite of Faustus’ nails into the delicate skin of her wrist when she “humiliated him” with a slightly haggard appearance at a fundraising luncheon. Never mind the fact that her brother and his wife had just died, leaving their infant daughter in her care. She hadn’t slept in three weeks when Faustus requested—demanded—she’d had enough time to grieve and ought to return to the campaign trail with him. He won in a landslide—but it wasn’t much of a competition, considering his opponent was dead.</p><p>Raising her right arm slightly in the mirror, she tugged the sleeve farther down, so that it fully covered her wrist. While there were no marks to be found, now that those days were behind her, she could still feel the phantom press of nails digging in—</p><p>“Where did you say you’re goin', Zelds?” said Hilda, appearing behind her in the mirror with no warning at all. Zelda cried out in alarm, still not used to her sister’s soundless footsteps and constant hovering.</p><p>Turning away from the mirror, Zelda said, “Not that it’s any of your business, sister, but I have a… date,” said Zelda, feeling absurdly vulnerable in her unfamiliar clothing. In fact, she’d seriously considered cancelling the whole date solely on the premise of having to exchange her deliciously tight dresses and pearls for more… practical apparel.</p><p>Her sister’s eyes widened with surprise and confusion before her face broke into a wide smile. “Really?! Where you goin’?”</p><p>“Never you mind, Hilda,” Zelda said, brushing passed her sister with her usual gruffness. “Don’t wait up for me.”</p><p>As Zelda left the room, Hilda snorted in amusement before muttering beneath her breath, “I never do.”</p><p>But this was only partially true. Hilda often waited up when she knew her sister was out drinking and trying to pick up complete strangers in a bar, but she made a point to always go to bed at midnight; if she stayed up any later, it was far more likely that she’d get no sleep at all, and not only that, but she would be greeted in the wee hours of the morning by the disheveled appearance of her sister, in dire need of coffee, no matter the odd hour. But on the rare occasions when the night went south before it had really even begun, Hilda liked to be up just in case Zelda came stumbling through the door, looking like something the cat dragged in.</p><p>They never spoke on these occasions; Hilda would simply lead her sister to the kitchen table and heat the kettle in silence.</p><p>Zelda had been going out more and more in recent months, which Hilda could only guess had to do with trying to forget whatever was causing her nightmares. It wasn’t a healthy way to live—surviving off of cigarettes, coffee, liquor, and sex—but Hilda knew that pointing this out to her older sister would only result in being given the silent treatment for the better part of a month.</p><p>Zelda was already halfway to the door when Hilda called out to her, “Dr. Cee says the weather report is calling for severe storms this evening. I hope you won’t be outside too long. You really ought to come home before the weather changes. I’m sure your...date… will understand.”</p><p>Zelda laughed, somewhat cruelly, as she wrenched open the door. “Your boyfriend is no more a weatherman than I am the First Lady.”</p><p>The comment about Dr. Cee stung, but Hilda tried not to let it get beneath her skin, especially when the rest of her sister’s jibe was equal parts self-loathing and self-deprecation. Zelda had been especially prickly ever since her divorce, and while she didn’t say much about her reasons for wanting the separation so soon after the wedding, Hilda knew that her sister was having terrible nightmares again, the likes of which Hilda hadn’t witnessed since they were children.</p><p>Neither of them had gotten a full nights’ rest since Zelda moved out of the governor’s mansion and back into the family mortuary business, and it was starting to show. Zelda was losing weight by the stone, which was of great concern to her sister, as she hadn’t had much extra weight on her to begin with.</p><p>Hilda had half a mind to pop in on the governor—just for a friendly little chat and cup of tea, and perhaps even a plate of her special almond cookies—but she didn’t think Zelda would appreciate such an extreme action to be taken on her behalf.</p><p>(Never mind that Hilda had done it before, to great success. What Zelda didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. She loved her sister, after all.)</p><p>Hilda was torn from her thoughts by her sister’s voice.</p><p>“If it will ease your mind, I promise I'll be back before the storm hits,” Zelda said, softer this time, as she looked over her shoulder. “You’ll take care of Sabrina, won’t you?”</p><p>“Of course,” said Hilda, forcing a smile as well as a nod. The toddler had only just been put down for her afternoon nap, which meant that the moment she returned to the nursery, Hilda knew she would find her niece neither sleeping nor behaving, by any stretch of the word. “Have fun, sister.”</p><hr/><p>The drive to the National Park was quicker than Zelda expected—there wasn’t a lick of traffic, despite it being a Friday afternoon. Zelda pulled into the parking area fifteen minutes early, unsure what she was meant to do while she waited. As she strummed her fingers on the steering wheel, she thought back to a week before, when she’d first met the woman with whom she was about to go hiking.</p><p>
  <em>Zelda was sitting in a backwoods bar that she’d chosen specifically because it was the last place where anyone would recognize her. Her terribly public and harrowing divorce had only been finalized a few months ago, and since Faustus Blackwood was a prominent politician—the governor, with aspirations for presidency one day, no less—existing in any public space was exhausting at best, and torturous at worst.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She’d already had three whiskeys on an empty stomach and was feeling mercifully buzzed when a dark-haired beauty had entered the bar, clad in a motorcycle jacket and tight leather pants. Zelda had never seen a woman with such sharp cheekbones in all of her life—her fingers itched to take the woman’s face into her hands. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zelda’s staring didn’t go unnoticed; sharp blue eyes immediately snapped in her direction. Her body flooded with heat as the woman sidled up to the bar, taking the seat beside her with a cocky flip of her hair. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Is this seat taken?”</em>
</p><p>Zelda was shocked out of her daydreaming when a fist banged on her window. She jumped in alarm, but settled when she realized it was just Lilith—her date—looking far too smug at having startled her.</p><p>Opening her door, Zelda huffed, “You don’t have to look so pleased with yourself. I don’t tend to enjoy the company of people who laugh at my expense.”</p><p>“Who’s laughing?” said Lilith, quirking an eyebrow. Her mane of dark hair was pulled back into an elaborate French braid, which surprised Zelda. From their conversation at the bar, Zelda had assumed that Lilith was not the kind of woman who spent time on such things. Her fingers itched to yank the woman’s head back by the braid and lavish kisses on her neck—</p><p><em>Ahem</em>. She was getting ahead of herself.</p><p>Zelda shut her door with a bang before crossing her arms. “I don’t know why I agreed to this.”</p><p>Lilith tilted her head, her eyes smiling, “You agreed because I’m just so devilishly charming.”</p><p>Zelda scoffed. “You could charm the skin off a snake—but that doesn’t mean I’m going to enjoy scaling a mountain.”</p><p>Lilith invaded her space, then, forcing Zelda to press her back against the car door. Lilith’s arms caged her in, the smirk never wavering from her face.</p><p>“I can think of something else you might prefer to scale, but you’ll just have to wait until we’re at the top. I promise I’ll make it worth your while,” Lilith’s voice lowered to an almost-growl.</p><p>Zelda blinked twice, shocked by Lilith’s forwardness, despite the flood of warmth and desire that was bubbling in her stomach. Usually it was<em> Zelda</em> who was the more sexually forward and promiscuous in a developing relationship, though her decades-long flirtation with Faustus had seen a relatively equal balance of wantonness. She’d only known this woman for a short time, but already she could see that they would be well-matched.</p><p>“You should know, I’m not a very patient woman,” Zelda husked, trying to capture Lilith’s lips in a fierce kiss, but Lilith leaned away, out of her reach.</p><p>Lilith tsked. “And here I thought <em>I </em>was the one who needed to learn self-restraint.”</p><p>Zelda huffed, shoving Lilith’s arms away so that she wasn’t caged between them anymore. “You weren’t complaining the other night, when I made you cum all over my fingers in the alleyway next to the bar.”</p><p>Lilith blinked in surprise as the explicitness of Zelda’s words as she watched her turn and take off in the direction of the nearest trail marker without her.</p><p>“You’re a prickly one, aren’t you?” said Lilith, adjusting her backpack as she ran to catch up.</p><p>“And you aren’t?” asked Zelda with an arched brow.</p><p>Lilith eyed her with curiosity, not having expected their date to start off on such strange footing. “Have I hit a nerve? I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to offend you. I<em> like</em> that you’ve got fire. It’s just… I didn’t think the ex-First Lady would be so… well… un-lady-like.”</p><p>This was the first reference Lilith had made to knowing Zelda’s past, and it immediately set Zelda’s teeth on edge. She’d thought they’d had a silent agreement not to talk about it. She’d <em>thought</em> Lilith understood, because they’d briefly discussed Lucifer Morningstar, a famous actor that Lilith had dated (which ended in what one might consider a complete disaster), and Zelda had made a point to say that discussing past lovers wasn’t her idea of polite conversation.</p><p>“I’m not a lady, and I don’t pretend to be,” Zelda rounded on Lilith with fire in her eyes, forcing Lilith to take a step back, “and I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention my ex-husband again.”</p><p>“I <em>didn’t</em> mention him,” said Lilith, the confusion clear on her face, though Zelda didn’t see it, as she’d already started walking again, deeper into the woods. “But I get the message loud and clear. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“Stop apologizing,” said Zelda, stopping short on the trail before rounding on Lilith, “and can you tell me where, exactly, we’re going?”</p><p>Lilith threw her head back and laughed.</p><p>“What’s so funny?” said Zelda, tapping her foot with the air of a Duchess waiting for a servant to bring her brandy.</p><p>“It’s just,” said Lilith, between laughs, trying to get a hold of herself, “<em>you’re </em>the one who took off in this direction, without even asking me if this was the right way.”</p><p>“Well, is it?” said Zelda, placing her hands on her hips.</p><p>“Yes,” Lilith nodded, starting forward again. “But we ought to pace ourselves. There’s an elevation gain of 2,000 feet.”</p><p>Zelda’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. “You do realize that I’m not a bloody <em>mountaineer</em>?”</p><p>Lilith loved the way Zelda’s accent got more and more posh the angrier she made her. “Relax. There are lots of nice places to stop along the way. If you get too tired, we can always turn around.”</p><p>“I won’t get too tired,” insisted Zelda stubbornly as she set off again. “I’m just pointing out that I’m not a rugged outdoorswoman like you.”</p><p>“You think I’m rugged?” Lilith teased, happy to follow behind, as it improved her view significantly.</p><p>(And she wasn’t talking about the mountain.)</p><hr/><p>They were only ninety minutes or so into the hike when Zelda’s energy began to wane. She hadn’t had a proper night’s rest in as long as she could remember, and she hadn’t properly exercised in twice that long. Sure, she was accustomed to spending her weekends having her needs vigorously met, but she hadn’t hiked since she was a teenager looking for excuses to get out of the house.</p><p>“Why don’t we take a break?” Lilith suggested, noticing that Zelda was breathing harder than she’d like. “There’s a nice view of Moon Valley here.”</p><p>Zelda didn’t need telling twice. She threw herself down on a suitable rock, wiping the sweat from her brow. “The longer we hike, the less interested I am in getting to the top.”</p><p>Lilith understood, though she tried to keep the disappointment off of her face. “Do you want to turn around?”</p><p>“No,” said Zelda, her voice dropping to a purr. “I just want you to keep your promise that you’ll make this worth my while.”</p><p>“You have my word,” Lilith said, dropping down onto the rock beside her. “I guess I thought this would be a good activity for us to do where neither of us would be recognized.”</p><p>Zelda hummed her agreement. “It is nice—I haven’t done this in decades. I’m just not as young as I used to be.”</p><p>“All the better for me. I’ve always loved older women,” said Lilith, unscrewing her water bottle to take a long swig.</p><p>“Who are you calling ‘older?’” said Zelda, grateful when Lilith passed the water to her. “I’m pretty sure you’ve got at least a year on me.”</p><p>“Yes, but I’m younger at heart,” said Lilith, playfully jabbing Zelda with her elbow.</p><p>“You’ve got me there,” agreed Zelda, smiling despite herself.</p><p>A comfortable silence fell over them as they looked out over Moon Valley. Zelda sighed, taking a deep breath of fresh air. It was unseasonably cold for autumn, which meant the wind nipping at her exposed skin was just shy of painful. She shivered, having dressed without looking at the forecast.</p><p>“Are you cold?” asked Lilith, taking note of how her date hadn’t prepared for the wind or the elevation. “Here, take my jacket.”</p><p>Zelda protested, waving Lilith off. “That’s really not necessary—then <em>you’ll</em> be cold.”</p><p>“I run hot,” said Lilith, shrugging out of her motorcycle jacket. “This might be a little tight on you, but it’s better than nothing.”</p><p>Despite Zelda’s continued protests, Lilith made quick work of wrapping the jacket around her shoulders. It smelled faintly of an earthy, amber-based perfume, with perhaps a hint of jasmine, combined with something else that was distinctly… Lilith.</p><p>Zelda tried not to make her relief at having the warm, heavy weight on her shoulders too obvious, but she could tell it was not lost on Lilith by the way she was smiling fondly at her.</p><p>“Better?”</p><p>Zelda cleared her throat as her right hand clutched the neck of the jacket closer to her body. “Yes, thank you. But you’ll let me know if you need it back, won’t you?”</p><p>Lilith waved her off, offering a hand to pull her up, which Zelda accepted after a moment’s hesitation.</p><p>“We should keep going if we want to make it to the peak before we lose too much light.”</p><p>Zelda nodded, trying to hide how tired she was. It was one thing to chat someone up in a bar, where everything was warm and familiar and relatively safe; it was entirely another to put your trust—and even your very life—into the hands of a stranger, blindly trusting that she wasn’t leading you to a secluded place in the woods for more…nefarious reasons.</p><p>It took another ninety minutes to make it to the peak. Along the way, the two spoke of insignificant things: favorite foods, drinks, seasons, etc. Zelda tried to ignore the pain in the arches of her feet, the throbbing in her calves, and the chill that continued to plague her despite having borrowed Lilith’s leather jacket.</p><p>Finally, they made it to the top, and Zelda had to admit that the view was beautiful. She’d never seen Moon Valley from so high a height before. It was simply breathtaking.</p><p>“Told you it would be worth it,” said Lilith, her smile a beacon of light and warmth.</p><p>Not wanting to ruin the moment, Zelda tried to ignore the dizziness that came from being at such a high elevation, looking out over the valley below. She reached for Lilith’s hand, ostensibly to reassure her that it was, indeed, worth it, but her mouth went dry at the way Lilith’s smile morphed into an expression of pure desire.</p><p>“Don’t I deserve a kiss?” Lilith husked, leaning in. Zelda surged towards her, grateful to have an excuse to throw herself into the woman’s arms.</p><p>The kiss was heavy, hot, and wet. Zelda immediately slipped her tongue into Lilith’s mouth, wanting to devour her. She felt light-headed, like if Lilith’s hands hadn’t wandered to her waist, her knees might’ve buckled without the extra support.</p><p>When they finally broke apart, Lilith let out a breathless laugh. “If that’s the kind of kiss I get for making you hike a mountain, I ought to make you do it again, and again, and again.”</p><p>“Over your dead body,” Zelda joked, pressing their foreheads together. “The view is great, but <em>this </em>is better.”</p><p>Eventually, they broke apart. Zelda walked to the edge of the rocks, looking down over miles of forest. “I’ve lived here almost all my life and I’ve never seen the valley look so beautiful.”</p><p>Lilith hummed her agreement, coming to stand beside her. She was about to make a comment about Zelda’s beauty outshining the valley—or something equally suave—but as she opened her mouth, the sun was obscured by dark storm clouds, plunging the valley into the shadows.</p><p>Lilith cursed, realizing belatedly that she should’ve paid more attention to the weather report. “I hate to say it, but we need to get moving. I don’t like the look of those clouds.”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes widened. “I completely forgot. My sister warned me about a storm coming. Are you sure we can make it down the mountain in time?”</p><p>Even as Lilith was about to respond, the valley was suddenly illuminated by a lightning strike, followed immediately by an almighty clap of thunder. The sky opened up, showering them with freezing rain.</p><p>“We’ve got to find shelter—<em>now</em>.”</p><p>Lilith scrambled down the path, looking for anything that might serve as temporary shelter from the storm. She could hear Zelda panting behind her, struggling to keep up. Just as Lilith was coming to terms with just how dire their situation was, with the lightning getting closer and closer to their position, and still two and a half hours’ worth of hiking to get to the bottom of the mountain, she spotted a crevice in the side of the mountain that could serve as protection from the driving rain.</p><p>“Zelda?” Lilith shouted through the storm, realizing that her companion was quite a distance behind her. “We need to take cover and ride out the storm. It’s not safe to keep going in this weather—if one of us slips—”</p><p>Almost as if her words were prophetic, she watched in horror as Zelda’s boots slipped on the slick rocks, sending her tumbling to ground with a cry of pain.</p><p>“Zelda!” Lilith rushed to the woman’s side, eyes roving over her body to search for any outward signs of injury. “Are you hurt?”</p><p>Zelda groaned. “I… I don’t think so. Just bruised, probably.”</p><p>“What’s bruised?” said Lilith, having difficulty seeing details through the torrential, freezing rain.</p><p>“<em>Everything</em>,” Zelda ground out, trying to push herself back up. Lilith immediately grabbed her by the arms and heaved her onto her feet, fully aware that the longer they stayed in this terrible weather, the more dangerous it was.</p><p>“There’s a cave just over there,” Lilith pointed, “and I think it’s our best bet at being able to ride out the storm.”</p><p>Zelda hissed as she put weight on her right ankle. “I think I’ve twisted something.”</p><p>Lilith’s heart sank. There was no way she would be able to carry her completely—but she’d have to try. “Lean on me. That’s it. Once we’re sheltered from the storm, we can take a look at it.”</p><p>It was slow-going, but with Zelda’s arm over Lilith’s shoulders, and her own arm around Zelda’s waist, they managed to hobble along to the cave. By the time they made it beneath the stone’s protection, their clothes were completely soaked through, and Zelda’s body was violently shivering from the cold.</p><p>Lilith eased Zelda down deep inside the cave, grimacing at how pale her companion had become.</p><p>“Zelda? Are you alright?” she asked, throwing her soaked backpack to the ground before plopping down unceremoniously beside her. “Do you want me to take a look at your ankle?”</p><p>“No,” Zelda gritted out, running a hand through her wet and tangled hair. “I’ve sprained it before. I know what it feels like. There’s nothing we can do about it now.”</p><p>Lilith nodded, the weight of their situation pressing down upon her. “I’m so sorry. I should never have taken you on a hike in the first place.”</p><p>“I enjoyed it,” Zelda said, trying to sound reassuring even as her teeth chattered against one another. “I think dinner and a movie might’ve been just as enjoyable, though.”</p><p>Lilith laughed mirthlessly, shaking her head in shame. “I wanted to do something different. Something special. Something that would make me stand out against all your other lovers.”</p><p>Zelda feigned offense, trying to focus on something that wasn’t pain or the chill inside her very bones. “What do you mean ‘all’ my other lovers? Are you telling me I have a reputation?”</p><p>“Ummm… no?” Lilith lied, unsure what Zelda wanted her to say.</p><p>Zelda laughed, but then the laugh turned into a moan as she clutched her ribs. “I think I landed pretty hard on my side. Those rocks hurt like hell.”</p><p>Lilith wrestled with herself as she watched Zelda shiver and clutch at her side. An idea formed in her head, but she wasn’t sure Zelda was going to like it.</p><p>“You look cold,” said Lilith, reaching out to move a sodden red curl out of Zelda’s face. “I don’t know how long the storm will last, but if it goes into the night, we’re in trouble. The temperature will drop and we’ll be at risk of hypothermia. I think we should get out of our wet clothes as soon as possible.”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes widened. “If this is your idea of seduction—”</p><p>“It’s not,” Lilith insisted, beginning to take off her long-sleeved shirt. “You lose 25% more body heat when your clothes are wet. Not to put too fine a point on it, but it would be better if we were naked.”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes darted about the cave, trying to find anything else to look at besides the woman currently undressing in front of her. “Are you sure that’s… entirely necessary?”</p><p>Lilith threw her shirt to the side, beginning to unbuckle her pants. “I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think it was necessary. But you don’t have to follow suit if you’re uncomfortable.”</p><p>Zelda stared pointedly at her feet, her cheeks going red as she heard Lilith’s pants hit the ground. “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, it’s just… I’d hoped the first time we saw each other naked, it would be under better circumstances.”  </p><p>“I wanted that, too,” agreed Lilith, placing a finger beneath Zelda’s chin and gently lifting it so that she would look at her. “Don’t think of it as the first time. This is strictly for survival reasons.”</p><p>Zelda quirked an eyebrow even as her whole body shuddered with the cold. “You really know how to make a girl feel special.”</p><p>Lilith winked, trying to find the humor of it all as well. She made a point to do a grand flourish with her arm, as if she were a butler at a grand estate. “May I take your jacket, ma’am?”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes narrowed. “You mean <em>your</em> jacket?”</p><p>Lilith snorted as she reached out to help Zelda take one arm and then the other out of the wet leather. “What’s mine is yours.”</p><p>Zelda’s stomach fluttered at the thought as she had no choice but to look at Lilith’s body while she helped her out of her clothes. She took in Lilith’s matching set of black lace panties and bra while pointedly trying to appear respectful, not lascivious.</p><p>Lilith chuckled, tugging at Zelda’s wet sweater to ask permission to pull it up. “You can look as much as you want, Zelda. In fact, I want you to.”</p><p>Zelda lifted her arms so that Lilith could more easily pull the sweater over her head. Now in just her undershirt and leggings she felt awfully exposed, and certainly no warmer.</p><p>“And the rest of it?” Lilith asked, not wanting to sound too pushy, but the sooner they could share body heat, the better their chances of avoiding hypothermia.</p><p>Zelda locked eyes with Lilith as she very slowly tugged her undershirt over her head. Lilith tried not to stare, but she was no saint—she’d always been extremely appreciative of the female form. Zelda’s body was soft in a way that Lilith’s wasn’t; it was fuller around the hips and stomach. Lilith longed to trace every inch of it with her mouth—but she was getting ahead of herself.</p><p>Zelda had trouble peeling the wet, clingy fabric of her leggings down over her legs. Lilith made to help, but stopped when Zelda held up a hand, as if to say, <em>I can manage.</em></p><p>It was overwhelmingly intimate, watching Zelda struggle to take off the leggings, and suddenly Lilith was overcome by the reality of their situation. This date was a disaster.</p><p>“Lilith?”</p><p>“Yes?” she snapped herself back into the present, realizing it must’ve appeared as though she was staring intently at Zelda struggling to take off her pants, when really, her eyes had lost focus and she was staring into space.</p><p>“Could you… get it over my ankle?”</p><p>Lilith blinked once, twice, thrice, before realizing that the leggings were mostly off, save for one pant leg bunched around her sprained right ankle. Lilith swallowed, reaching out with her left hand to support the woman’s leg from beneath as her right hand tugged on the fabric.</p><p>But this proved to be more difficult than she thought, as Zelda immediately yelped in pain.</p><p>“Sorry! Sorry!” Lilith cried, putting the leg down immediately. “I don’t know how to do it without hurting you.”</p><p>“No matter what you do, it’s going to hurt,” said Zelda through her teeth, her face awfully pale, “just get it over with, please.”</p><p>Lilith nodded, taking a deep breath. Steeling herself, she used both hands this time to yank the wet fabric off her leg. Zelda’s resulting cry of pain made her nearly dizzy with guilt and regret, but Lilith was satisfied with the knowledge that they were now both devoid of most of their wet clothing.</p><p>She didn’t want to push her luck by suggesting they undress any further—not when Zelda seemed far more modest than she’d assumed she’d be, considering within three hours of knowing each other, they’d had a quickie in the alley beside the bar… Although, now that Lilith was thinking about it, that had been a fully-clothed endeavor.</p><p>“You look like… a kicked puppy,” said Zelda, between harsh, shuddering breaths. “You don’t have to look… so remorseful.”</p><p>Lilith couldn’t take the way Zelda’s whole body shook with the cold. It was now or never. “Zelda?”</p><p>“Y-Yes?” she ground out.</p><p>“Can I… May I… hold you?” Lilith said, feeling sheepish. She was a grown woman, not a child.</p><p>Zelda just stared at her, her glassy green eyes unreadable.</p><p>Lilith backtracked. “I mean, of course, if you don’t want me to, I won’t—but, uh, the whole point of getting undressed was, uh, to share body heat, o-out of our wet clothes.”</p><p>“Fine,” Zelda said, sliding down the stone wall so that she was lying on her back. Lilith’s eyes took in her silk underwear, which the rain had surely ruined. “But only until the rain stops.”</p><p>Lilith wanted to laugh at this ultimatum, but didn’t think the situation was one worthy of laughter at the moment. Perhaps later, when they had some distance from all this, it would be funny, but right now, they were dangerously close to hypothermia.</p><p>As Lilith laid down beside Zelda, the taller woman turned away from her, onto her side, as if to say, <em>You will hold me, but I won’t hold you.</em></p><p>That was just fine with Lilith, considering this was all her fault, and she shouldn’t have taken them on such a long hike without considering the possibility of the weather changing.</p><p>Slowly, so as not to spook her, Lilith wrapped her arms around Zelda, fitting their bodies together like puzzle pieces. It was strange, at first. Their skin was slick and clammy where it pressed together, and Lilith was overly conscious of the fact that her breasts were pressed against Zelda’s back. The cold had caused her nipples to harden—she hoped Zelda didn’t notice, but imagined it was unlikely she didn’t.</p><p>The storm raged on. The sky outside the cave was menacingly dark, with the occasional flash of lightning illuminating everything. They stayed like that for some time, Lilith curled around Zelda in a facsimile of intimacy, praying that she still had some heat in her body to give to her. An hour might’ve passed, maybe two, before Zelda broke the silence.</p><p>“Lilith?” Zelda said, her voice high and breathless.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“I’m still cold,” she admitted, as if this were a particularly shameful thing—as if it were some moral failing that she wasn’t feeling better by now.</p><p>Lilith rubbed her hands up and down Zelda’s arms, trying to create more heat. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do. The storm is in full swing. We could try to radio for help, but no one would dare to launch a rescue in this kind of weather; they’d wind up just like us.”</p><p>Zelda turned in her arms, so that now they were facing each other. “I think I’d be willing to try just about anything to feel warm again.”</p><p>Lilith’s mouth went dry. “Umm… like what?”</p><p>Zelda leaned in closer, her mouth a hair’s breadth away from Lilith’s.</p><p>“Kiss me?”</p><p>It was a question, not a command. Lilith’s eyes dropped to Zelda’s lips. “Are you sure?”</p><p>Rather than answer, Zelda pressed her lips, softly and uncertainly, against Lilith’s. It was nothing like their earlier passionate kiss; this one was soft and slow and charged with a kind of quiet desperation. Lilith responded with equal gentleness, raising her hand to caress Zelda’s face as they kissed.</p><p>They laid there for a long time, exploring each other’s mouths with great care. When they eventually broke apart, Zelda sighed in contentment, before snuggling closer. Lilith guided Zelda’s head so that it was tucked beneath her chin. Zelda’s shuddering breaths tickled her collarbone before Lilith sensed a change in her breathing pattern.</p><p>“Zelda? Zelda, you shouldn’t go to sleep. You have to stay awake,” Lilith insisted, tugging on the woman’s knotted red curls to try and get her to lift her head.</p><p>“Mmm? But I’m finally warm,” Zelda said, her voice thick with sleepiness.</p><p>“That could be the hypothermia talking. It’s very important you stay awake,” Lilith said, punctuating her words by pulling harder on the woman’s hair, causing her to let out a low moan.</p><p>“I could be persuaded,” said Zelda, pressing her mouth to the spot between Lilith’s breasts with a kind of idle enthusiasm, as if it were just something to do, and not something full of meaning and consequences if it went further.</p><p>“Zelda, it’s not that that doesn’t feel amazing—” <em>Oh, did it feel amazing</em>. “But I don’t want you to be doing things when you’re possibly delirious.”</p><p>“Delirious? Me? <em>You’re</em> the de-leer-ee-ous one!” Zelda slurred, a smile in her voice, before her mouth moved to latch onto one of Lilith’s breasts over her bra. Lilith sucked in a sharp breath, trying to push Zelda away even as she knew it was important that they remain touching.</p><p>“Zelda, <em>stop</em>.”</p><p>But Zelda just switched to the other breast, using her teeth this time to try and pull the fabric down.</p><p>“Zelda, I’m serious. It’s not that I don’t want to—I really, really do—just not like this.”</p><p>Zelda’s hands were wandering now, too. When one hand slipped beneath the fabric of Lilith’s underwear, Lilith grabbed her by the wrist with a firm—and possibly bruising—grip.</p><p>“Zelda, <em>look at me</em>,” Lilith insisted, using her other hand to wind her fingers in Zelda’s hair and pull until her head was thrown back.</p><p>Zelda moaned—whether in pleasure or plain, Lilith couldn’t tell. Her eyes were clouded, her lips blue, and she continued to shiver despite claiming to be warm.</p><p>“You don’t want me-e?” said Zelda, her voice slurring slightly. She looked confused—maybe even scared—and her tone was terribly, terribly pleading. “I can do b-better. I promise, I can. Just tell me w-what you want, and I’ll do-o it. Or you can do it to me. I w-won’t move, I won’t make a sound—I swear. You can do-o whatever you want.”</p><p>Lilith’s stomach flipped. “<em>What</em>? No!”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes blinked a couple times before slipping closed again. Her head dropped against Lilith’s chest, now that she’d released her grip on the woman’s hair. Lilith still had a firm hold on Zelda’s wrist, which she immediately released as well, worried that the rough treatment might’ve been what prompted the incoherent begging that had followed.</p><p>How had things gone so wrong so fast? If only the storm would pass, she could get Zelda to the hospital.</p><p>“Zelda, you <em>can’t</em> sleep. You might not wake up, do you understand?” Lilith said, pushing Zelda so that she was on her back so that Lilith could reach for her backpack. She’d packed a radio, as well as some food and water, just in case. She turned on the radio, grateful to discover that it still worked, since she hadn’t used it in a long time. Radioing for help should’ve been the first thing she did, but then, she knew a rescue team couldn’t brave the storm at its worst without risking its own people, and she’d also hoped it would blow over much sooner. Not only that, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the driving rain would be cold enough to put them in any real danger of hypothermia, but clearly, she was wrong.</p><p>Lilith requested immediate help. The storm seemed to be lightening up, so with a bit of luck, a team might be able to scale the mountain after them. The dispatcher confirmed that a medical team would be sent to recover them within the hour, weather permitting.</p><p>Turning back to Zelda, Lilith felt her heart leap into her throat. She was in a bad way; her breathing was slow and shallow, her pulse thready.</p><p>“Zelda?” Lilith said, pulling her closer. She tried to entwine their legs, mindful of Zelda’s swollen ankle.</p><p>Zelda mumbled an unintelligible response. Lilith ran her hands over Zelda’s back, hoping the friction would bring some warmth to her, but was shocked to feel raised scars beneath her fingers.</p><p><em>Strange</em>, Lilith thought. Lines of scars decorated her back, as if it had been torn to ribbons again and again. She’d only known Zelda for a short time, but already the idea of someone hurting her—or her hurting herself—made her chest ache.</p><p>“Zelda, please, I need you to open your eyes,” Lilith said, patting her cheek with the intention of forcing her back into full consciousness.</p><p>Lilith let out a huge breath of relief when Zelda’s eyes fluttered open. “Lilith?”</p><p>“Yes!” she said, grateful that Zelda knew who she was—for a while there, it wasn’t clear if she did.</p><p>“I don’t like hiking,” Zelda mumbled, nuzzling her nose into Lilith’s neck.</p><p>“Trust me, I’ll never take you hiking again,” said Lilith, her voice verging on breaking as tears filled her eyes.</p><p>Zelda’s lips turned down into a frown against her neck. “Does that mean we’re breaking up?”</p><p>“No, no, it doesn’t,” Lilith was quick to clarify, “but I would understand if you never wanted to see me again after this.”</p><p>Zelda pulled away slightly so that she could look Lilith in the eye. “Whyyy wouldn’t I w-want to see you?”</p><p>Lilith’s brows furrowed at the slurring slipping back into her voice.</p><p>“Zelda, I took you on a six-hour roundtrip hike up a mountain, without checking to make sure there was no rain in the forecast first.”</p><p>“Not your fault. Weatherman is always w-wrong anyway,” sighed Zelda, snuggling closer.</p><p>Lilith ran her fingers through Zelda’s hair, trying to untangle the knots. “Is there anything I can do?”</p><p>“Just k-keep talking. I like your voice,” Zelda said, one of her own hands coming to rest on Lilith’s shoulder.</p><p>And so, Lilith told the story of how she’d come to know Lucifer Morningstar. She didn’t know why she chose to share such intimate details with an almost-stranger, but something about Zelda felt different. She felt like she could trust her—and not just because she was clearly going in and out of delirium. She hadn't spoken about it to anyone; it felt good to finally get the words out, even if the woman listening possibly wasn't hearing her at all.</p><p>As she spoke, the storm finally cleared up. The rescue team arrived shortly after, with lots of blankets and no shortage of hot chocolate. It was determined too great a risk to move Zelda in the state she was in, so it became a waiting game, with piles and piles of blankets heaped upon her in the hope to raise her body temperature slowly but surely.</p><p>Lilith herself was wrapped in a blanket and sipping hot chocolate as she answered question after question from the medical team. When it came to questions about Zelda, she realized that she knew next to nothing about the woman, despite having been in her company for hours.</p><p>“What is her last name?” a gruff old woman asked impatiently.</p><p>Lilith knew the answer, but wasn’t sure she should say. From what she could tell, Zelda didn’t care to be recognized. But ultimately, Lilith knew it was important that she give the medics all the information she had, “Zelda… Blackwood. She’s the governor’s ex-wife.”</p><p>The medic nodded, turning to a nearby policeman. “We found her.”</p><p>“<em>Found</em> her?” Lilith said, wondering if she was becoming delirious herself. “She isn’t missing. I mean—sure—our hike took longer than expected, but that was an accident.”</p><p>The medic tilted her head, as if considering the validity of that explanation, before leaving to join her colleagues, who were monitoring Zelda’s condition closely. Meanwhile, the policeman looked her up and down, his eyes roving over her in a decidedly unprofessional manner.  Then, he gesticulated rather rudely in the direction of Zelda, who was slowly coming back to life under the pile of blankets while the medics tried and failed to ask her questions.</p><p>“This lady’s sister tried to file a missing person’s report three hours ago, but became extremely agitated when we told her that she had to wait at least 24 hours before filing the report. However, when she told us that the potential victim was the governor’s wife, we decided we ought to make it a priority.”</p><p>Lilith scoffed. “I bet you did.”</p><p>“What were you doing out here in the middle of nowhere with the governor’s wife? When she warms up, is she going to tell us that you kidnapped her?” said the policeman, a cruel smile on his face as he took in Lilith’s scandalized expression.</p><p>“No—what the hell?—surely her sister<em> told</em> you she was on a… a date?”</p><p>“Is that why we found her naked and hypothermic in a cave, with you on top of her?” said the policeman, his eyes dropping to Lilith’s chest, which was currently hidden by the blanket.</p><p>Lilith felt a surge of rage rising inside her, so she took a long sip of hot chocolate to calm herself before responding, “I should think you would recognize a survival technique when you saw one, Officer.”</p><p>“Survival technique?” the man said before letting out a long whistle. “Is that what they’re calling it now? Wait till the newspapers get a hold of this—front page material! Who would’ve thought Governor Blackwood was married to a dyke? No wonder he got rid of her as soon as he could.”</p><p>Lilith stood up slowly, mulling over what she was about to do and whether it would be worth it. She carefully took the lid off of her hot chocolate, making a show of breathing in the scent.</p><p>“Do you like hot chocolate, Officer?” Lilith purred, moving closer.</p><p>Falling for the bait, the officer smirked back at her. “Sure do.”</p><p>“Good,” she said, before throwing it in the officer’s face. As he struggled to wipe it out of his eyes, Lilith made a show of looking shocked at herself. "I'm so sorry, Officer. It must be the delirium."</p><p>Things happened rather quickly after that. The police officer lunged for her, but his partner and another medic saw what was happening and immediately moved to restrain him. In all of the hullaballoo, Zelda must’ve come back to herself, because by the time Lilith was ushered away from the scene, Zelda was sitting up and staring at her like she’d never seen her before.</p><p>“You look better,” said Lilith, sitting down beside her even as the medic glared at her for interrupting them.</p><p>“I feel better—at least, I don’t feel like I’m freezing to death anymore,” said Zelda, her voice much stronger and clearer than it was before. “What was all that about?”</p><p>Lilith looked back at the asshole policeman, who was still mopping the hot chocolate off of his face and uniform. “He said some things that earned him a drink to the face.”</p><p>“What kind of things?” said Zelda curiously, even as the medic wrestled her arm out from beneath the pile of blankets to take her blood pressure.</p><p>Lilith waved the question away. “Doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you’re warming up.”</p><p>Zelda winced as the blood pressure cuff tightened to a painful degree. “I don’t think I’ll be hiking again for a while.”</p><p>The medic made a tutting sound, apparently displeased with the blood pressure reading. “You’re going to have to be admitted to the hospital. Your vital signs are much better than they were, but they’re still not what we would like them to be.”</p><p>“I have hypertension,” Zelda said, rubbing her bare arm where the medic had removed the cuff. “But my blood pressure frequently spikes and drops. You won’t get a reading you like no matter how long you wait to do it.”</p><p>“Nevertheless, you still need to be admitted to the hospital.”</p><p>Zelda sighed, slipping her arm back beneath the blankets. She looked so small beneath them all. A sharp pain lanced through Lilith’s chest as she thought about just how close Zelda had come to—</p><p>“Lilith?” Zelda said, tearing her from her spiraling thoughts.</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>Zelda’s eyes flitted about Lilith’s face before casting themselves downward. “I think… I don’t remember everything, but I think… I owe you an apology.”</p><p>Lilith shook her head in disbelief. “Why on earth would <em>you</em> owe <em>me</em>—”</p><p>Zelda cut her off, “I kissed you… touched you… and when you told me to stop, I…”</p><p>Lilith’s face blushed at the memory, but forced herself to focus on the present. “Zelda, that wasn’t your fault. You were delirious. If anything, it’s my fault that you got that sick in the first place.”</p><p>Zelda didn’t look convinced, so Lilith threw an arm over her shoulders in an attempt at reassurance.</p><p>“How about this: If you don’t blame me for taking you on a truly disastrous date, then I won’t blame you for things you did or said when you were sick, alright?”</p><p>Zelda mulled this over for a while before nodding. “I think that’s a good compromise. Although, you’re not off the hook just yet.”</p><p>“Oh?” Lilith said, delighted to see a playful twinkle in Zelda’s eyes.</p><p>“You promised me that if we got to the top of the mountain, you’d make it ‘worth my while.’ Well, I don’t feel you kept your promise, and I’d like to arrange a time where we could… settle your account,” Zelda purred in her ear, heedless of the medics and police officers watching them.</p><p>Lilith smiled, reaching out to caress Zelda’s cheek with the back of her fingers. “A promise is a promise. I’m a woman of my word.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please comment if you enjoyed this! I would especially like to know what you think of this alternate universe. I'm rather fond of the idea of Edward and Faustus having fought for the position of Governor, rather than High Priest. I'm debating doing a whole series of fics in this universe; let me know if you'd be interested in reading them!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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